Ryan Barrett's blog

American Idiot at the Berkeley Rep

A few days ago, Vanessa and I went to see
American Idiot, the punk rock
musical based on Green Day‘s
2004 album,
at the Berkeley Rep. I loved the album when it
came out, so when I heard about the show, I immediately grabbed tickets.
I’m glad I did. It was awesome.

The show followed the pattern of earlier rock opera musicals, such as West
Side Story, Rent, and others, but the attitude and ambience were distinctly
modern ’90s punk rock. The actors nailed the dissatisfied, disaffected,
disillusioned attitude, and the sets oozed grungy urban dystopia and suburban
sprawl.

The script itself was solid, and entertaining, even if it did overreach itself
and lose focus at times. No matter. We went for the music, and on that score,
they delivered. My music taste is pretty mainstream, but Vanessa’s been
plugged into the underground punk scene for a long time, so the fact that we
both enjoyed it spoke volumes.

The ensemble clearly came from a music theater background, but they did the
music justice. More importantly, they were backed by a full, live rock band.
They played every song from the album, as well as some from other albums and
some they wrote themselves.

Beyond the show itself, the people watching was great fun. The crowd ranged
from the standard blue-hair theater subscribers to punk rock kids to yuppies
like me. We had a ton of fun watching them eye each other, mingle, and
strike up awkward but endearing bits of conversation.

They’ve extended the show through November 15th, so if you’re interested, you
can still grab tickets.
It’s well worth it.